Beer in Business/First

I'm curious - why don't airlines serve better beer, particularly in their premium cabins? There is something incongruous about serving Krug and caviar, then offering Amstel, Miller and Heineken to drink. A menu offering Rochefort 10, a nice sour, a Weihenstephaner hefeweizen, a Unibroue Trois Pistoles, and a nice pilsner would do nicely.

The only airlines I know of serving a decent brew are tiny outfits like Horizon and Porter. Any thoughts?

I'm curious - why don't airlines serve better beer, particularly in their premium cabins? There is something incongruous about serving Krug and caviar, then offering Amstel, Miller and Heineken to drink. A menu offering Rochefort 10, a nice sour, a Weihenstephaner hefeweizen, a Unibroue Trois Pistoles, and a nice pilsner would do nicely.

The only airlines I know of serving a decent brew are tiny outfits like Horizon and Porter. Any thoughts?

I'm curious - why don't airlines serve better beer, particularly in their premium cabins? There is something incongruous about serving Krug and caviar, then offering Amstel, Miller and Heineken to drink. A menu offering Rochefort 10, a nice sour, a Weihenstephaner hefeweizen, a Unibroue Trois Pistoles, and a nice pilsner would do nicely.

The only airlines I know of serving a decent brew are tiny outfits like Horizon and Porter. Any thoughts?

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While those would be great choices, I'd settle for any improvements at all. One limitation seems to be the un-necessary requirement that the beer be in a can. There is a bit of a weight issue, but if we're just talking first/business, it should be doable. With champagne and other wines, one bottle serves several passengers. With a beer bottle, it's one per passenger, unless they go with one of the Trappist ales or similarly boutique beers that come in 750mL bottles. Then you'd run into issues of whether an airline can actually get enough of the stuff to offer a consistent menu across it's flight schedule.

One limitation seems to be the un-necessary requirement that the beer be in a can.

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Lots of first-rate beers are canning now since it's a perfectly acceptable (if still not too reputable) way of packaging and preserving beer.

With a beer bottle, it's one per passenger, unless they go with one of the Trappist ales or similarly boutique beers that come in 750mL bottles. Then you'd run into issues of whether an airline can actually get enough of the stuff to offer a consistent menu across it's flight schedule.

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With the champagne-bottled beers you'd have to be reasonably confident that you would pour the whole bottle, or there'll be a lot of wastage. On the other hand, the bottle would only run $6 to $10 at cost, so the wastage would be less important than with champagne.

I'm sure that there would not be a problem with supply unless the airline tried to buy single-batch specials. There's plenty enough Chimay, Brooklyn, etc, to go around.

Lots of first-rate beers are canning now since it's a perfectly acceptable (if still not too reputable) way of packaging and preserving beer.

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Very true. Guiness has been canned for a while, and I'm sure any number of US micro-brews would be thrilled at the opportunity to be on a major airline if that's all it took.

LarryInNYC said:

With the champagne-bottled beers you'd have to be reasonably confident that you would pour the whole bottle, or there'll be a lot of wastage. On the other hand, the bottle would only run $6 to $10 at cost, so the wastage would be less important than with champagne.

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Yeah, I had started to type something about waste, but even the most expensive beers wouldn't run anywhere near the cost of a higher-end wine, and there's certainly no guarantee that every bottle of champagne they pop is going to be consumed fully.

Could availability be an issue? Or simply ease of procuring widely available beers? I suspect cost factors in as well...not sure how many pick their airline based on beer options...

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I'm guessing availability might be an issue as well. Most good craft beers tend to be regionally brewed and distributed. Thus keeping a consistent stock of craft beers through the entire network might be difficult - and require dealing with multiple regional distributors instead of one large global distribution network for the macrobrews.

A north american airline might have luck dealing with a company like Craft Brewers Alliance (aka Red Hook + Kona Brewing + Goose Island + some others), which has a larger distribution network and access to multiple brands.

I'm guessing availability might be an issue as well. Most good craft beers tend to be regionally brewed and distributed. Thus keeping a consistent stock of craft beers through the entire network might be difficult - and require dealing with multiple regional distributors instead of one large global distribution network for the macrobrews.

A north american airline might have luck dealing with a company like Craft Brewers Alliance (aka Red Hook + Kona Brewing + Goose Island + some others), which has a larger distribution network and access to multiple brands.

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But even with the macrobrews, there are some much better choices than what is normally offered on flights. Guiness, Bass, Blue Moon (a Coors product), etc. are all quite readily available.

What I'd REALLY love is for airlines like Delta, UA, US or AA to offer regional beers on flights to and from their respective hubs. UA's hub in Denver could easily offer any one of the excellent "micro-brews" in Colorado (Fat Tire, anyone?) and then offer a different selection out of EWR, a different one from Houston, etc. Delta could, of course, offer Sweetwater beers into and out of Atlanta. US Airways could stock Yeungling on flights to and from Philly... Their magazines and menus would only need a few more lines on the beverage section to make it work, and I think it'd be quite well loved by passengers, especially on the long hauls. Even if it's just free for business/first and paid for in coach like liquor is now...

But even with the macrobrews, there are some much better choices than what is normally offered on flights. Guiness, Bass, Blue Moon (a Coors product), etc. are all quite readily available.

What I'd REALLY love is for airlines like Delta, UA, US or AA to offer regional beers on flights to and from their respective hubs. UA's hub in Denver could easily offer any one of the excellent "micro-brews" in Colorado (Fat Tire, anyone?) and then offer a different selection out of EWR, a different one from Houston, etc. Delta could, of course, offer Sweetwater beers into and out of Atlanta. US Airways could stock Yeungling on flights to and from Philly... Their magazines and menus would only need a few more lines on the beverage section to make it work, and I think it'd be quite well loved by passengers, especially on the long hauls. Even if it's just free for business/first and paid for in coach like liquor is now...

But even with the macrobrews, there are some much better choices than what is normally offered on flights. Guiness, Bass, Blue Moon (a Coors product), etc. are all quite readily available.

What I'd REALLY love is for airlines like Delta, UA, US or AA to offer regional beers on flights to and from their respective hubs. UA's hub in Denver could easily offer any one of the excellent "micro-brews" in Colorado (Fat Tire, anyone?) and then offer a different selection out of EWR, a different one from Houston, etc. Delta could, of course, offer Sweetwater beers into and out of Atlanta. US Airways could stock Yeungling on flights to and from Philly... Their magazines and menus would only need a few more lines on the beverage section to make it work, and I think it'd be quite well loved by passengers, especially on the long hauls. Even if it's just free for business/first and paid for in coach like liquor is now...

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Well, at least one airline is sort of giving you what you ask for. DL has Blue Moon for the summer. They used to offer up Leinenkugels as well, and generally have at least one decent local tap in each sky club. They at least toy with offering up decent options periodically.

Well, at least one airline is sort of giving you what you ask for. DL has Blue Moon for the summer. They used to offer up Leinenkugels as well, and generally have at least one decent local tap in each sky club. They at least toy with offering up decent options periodically.

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Really? The choices on my flights to europe a few weeks ago were pretty poor. The SkyClubs have NO excuse for not offering a few beer choices, including at least 1-2 good ones. They can/do use a tap, for heaven's sake!

So one might say it's a storage problem since the addition of beer is lowering the quantities of other beverages, and it may also depend upon the demand for beer compared to other beverages served Onboard.

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